More Better Accountability; EEP & DFER Show the Way

The Education Equality Project and Democrats For Education Reform issued a report on the accountability provisions within the current NCLB law–a topic people love to hate.  This report is a great reminder of why we need accountability to promote equity and excellence and why strong accountability must be carried forward in the upcoming reauthorization of ESEA.  The report

• makes the case for testing
• explains that we don’t need more tests, just better tests
• Disaggregating data highlights the achievement gap
• shows how ambitious goals improved performance of low-income kids

DFER, EEP and 16 other groups also released a Statement of Principles for ESEA reauthorization.  A portion of the note said:

the group endorses the direction the Obama Administration is taking to school reform. The signees ask the Administration and Congress to maintain and elaborate the bright lines in federal law around accountability and teacher quality and effectiveness, and couple that with a competitive grant strategy that invests in and rewards states that are ready, willing, and able to step up their education reform efforts, including reconstituting, restarting, converting, or shutting down the most chronically low-performing schools. There are many other important recommendations as well that are absolutely integral in key areas such as professional development, extended learning time, school finance, and human c apital and school leadership.